Amid executive orders and rules targeting diversity initiatives, OCU looks to bring back NAACP chapter

Kel Pinkston, a college student, is all about diversity. And inclusion. And equity.

In fact, he's taken those ideas to heart, which is why Pinkston and a group of his friends are set to do something that hasn't been done in more than a decade at Oklahoma City University — bring back the campus chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"OCU's chapter died 12 years ago," Pinkston said. "It dissolved after its second year. We been working with a team to bring it back."

So far, Pinkson and his team have been successful. He said OCU's new chapter will launch with at least 45 people: 36 dues-paying members and another nine participants. And OCU officials, he said, have embraced the idea.

"There hasn't been any issue with campus recognition," he said.

The students' efforts come during the same time Gov. Kevin Stitt and state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters have publicly criticized DEI initiatives at state colleges and universities. Earlier this month, Stitt signed an executive order targeting DEI initiatives at public higher education facilities, and Walters recently submitted new rules that would ban DEI initiatives at K-through-12 public schools.

The irony of both of those acts isn't lost on Pinkston.

"There are many multicultural groups on our campus," he said. "They are here to provide a community for different cultures. The NAACP is here to advance people of color. We're learning how to be advocates, and I think there's a lot of work to do both in Oklahoma and here on campus."

Oklahoma City University not impacted by Gov. Kevin Stitt's executive order on DEI initiatives

The difference, though, is OCU is a private higher educational facility, and Stitt's executive order has little impact there -- a message that OCU wants its students to know.

Just about a day after Stitt signed his executive order, OCU President Kenneth Evans sent an school-wide email stating that OCU is "committed to continuing the important work of creating and sustaining a climate and culture where belonging, equity and diversity are at the forefront."

"Each member of our community contributes to who we are as a university," Evans wrote. "We all bring a range of rich, unique and diverse lived experiences to OCU. We are a special place because of you, and we look forward to continuing to work diligently to be a place where all belong."

With the university's support, Pinkston said the newest branch of the NAACP will include a "very diverse membership."

"We have several ideas," he said. "We're working on engaging with health officials, with law enforcement, with people of color. We want to include Black people and other minority groups. We want to make sure that everyone's voice is heard."

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In addition to support from campus officials, Pinkston's effort has also drawn support from several members of the Oklahoma Legislature, including state Sen. George Young. Young, an Oklahoma City Democrat, is a vocal supporter of DEI initiatives and called Stitt's DEI executive order an example of "defending discrimination."

“It is obvious to those of us who have lived through and experienced the realization that freedom, in word and law, does not automatically result in opportunities for all," Young said in a media statement about the governor's order. "Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not catch phrases that have gone out of style – these words make up a continued effort to fulfill the phrase in one of our most fundamental governing documents, the affirmation that we are all created equal."

Without the reminder to be diverse, equal, and inclusive, Oklahoma could be led back to unfair practices of Jim Crow, slave codes, and the very essence of why the ongoing Civil Rights movement was and is important, he said.

"We need reminders to open our eyes and respond to every changing need of a country that was created, supported, and finds its origins in diversity, equity, and inclusion," Young said. "Another of the foundations of our democracy enshrined by our founders is the inalienable right to the ‘Pursuit of Happiness.’ Eliminating the reminder is a retraction of that basic, human right.”

'Race is still a question this nation will have to deal with'

Young said he was excited by the work done by Pinkston and others to bring the OCU chapter back to life. "It's wonderful to see them invigorating the NAACP on the OCU campus," he said. "It has a big connection to this present moment."

Groups like the NAACP are needed, Young said, because to opportunity for Black residents and other minorities hasn't always been equal. "They are trying to crack the door open a little," he said. "They are saying that African Americans play a part in this country. That's why groups like the NAACP are needed. I mean, we wouldn't need them if people acted right."

Young said it was wonderful to see students get involved in the issues of diversity, equality and even race relations. "Race is still a question this nation will have to deal with," he said. "It takes some boldness for those kids to stand up in the middle of all this. It's a bold and a brave move and I'm looking forward to helping them."

Pinkston said OCU's NAACP will officially launch its chapter on Jan. 11 in a ceremony on the OCU campus. He said several federal, state and municipal leaders were expected to attend.

"We want to get them all in the same room so we can share our initiatives," he said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: A revived NAACP chapter will open at OCU in January